Officers Recount Rescue of Young Boy

The two officers drove the 4-year-old boy involved in Friday night's wild police chase crash to the hospital and kept him conscious.

In the aftermath of a wild police chase that killed one person and injured two others, two local officers recounted the tense rescue of a young boy.

On Friday police chased after 39-year-old Gregory Alston after investigators say he pointed a handgun at them during a traffic stop before speeding off in his vehicle.

Alston collided with another car, then tried to escape on foot but was apprehended police. One person in the vehicle that was struck, an unidentified man, was killed in the crash. The 26-year-old female driver and a 4-year-old boy were both injured. Philadelphia Highway Patrol officers Joe Moore and Michael Alice were the two men who helped save the young boy’s life.

“When we first saw him we didn’t know what to expect,” said Officer Moore. “We thought the worst. But once he started to breathe and cry we were a lot happier.”

“We just hopped on the hood of the car,” said Officer Alice. “You could smell the gas and you could see the smoke. I just cut the boy out and I handed him out to Joe and another officer.”

“He had glass in his mouth, he was bleeding, he was cut from his face,” said Officer Moore.

Rather than wait for ambulance to arrive on the scene, the two officers sprang into action and drove the young boy to the hospital in their police cruiser while keeping him conscious.

“I was driving and Mike was holding him,” said Officer Moore. “Mike said ‘he’s not awake’ and he slapped his foot, and then he woke up and started breathing.”

While the boy suffered serious head injuries, he is expected to make a full recovery, according to Moore and Alice. The two officers, both fathers themselves, returned to St. Christopher on Saturday to visit the boy and make good on a deal. They told the boy they would buy him a Spiderman and Thomas the Tank Engine toy as long as he promised to keep his spirits high. Both the boy and the officers stayed true to their words.

“He shook my hand and he said ‘deal,’” said Officer Alice.

“Any time you help someone, especially when it’s a child who was helpless,” said Officer Moore. “It’s quite an experience.”

 

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